1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the processing of digital images and, more particularly, to a method for classifying a digital image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Digital images are currently used in numerous applications, for example in new generation acquisition devices such as photo cameras and digital still cameras (DSC). Moreover, digital images are being ever more extensively employed in applications in the field of artificial vision and in applications in the field of medical diagnostics.
In these and other contexts image classification plays a fundamental role as integrating part of the processing procedures, because it makes it possible not only to select the most appropriate algorithms on the basis of the type of image that has to be processed, but also to render the processing procedures independent of interaction with the user.
In the field of artificial vision, for example, some techniques for converting two-dimensional images into three-dimensional images are sensitively bound up with the type of image to be converted.
In some of these conversion techniques, in particular, there is typically generated a depth map relating to the 2D image to be converted, and on the basis of this map there is subsequently created a stereoscopic pair necessary for the reconstruction of the 3D output image. In the generation of this depth map the classification of the images acts as a “guide” element within the system, because it makes it possible to select and therefore utilize the most appropriate techniques on the basis of the image that is to be processed.
Image classification also plays a very important part in the processing procedures performed within the digital image acquisition devices. In this context the classification is utilized, for example, to optimize the processing as regards improvement of the quality of an acquired digital image or to optimize the compression-encoding operations.
Though widely used, the known classification techniques are associated with limits both as regards the precision of the results and from the point of view of computational complexity.